Activists in Ohio last week submitted nearly 30,000 additional signatures as part of an effort to get a marijuana legalization proposal before state lawmakers.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that the group known as the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol “turned in another 29,918 signatures to Secretary of State Frank LaRose” on Thursday “after falling short earlier this month.”

The coalition submitted a total of 206,943 signatures late last month as part of a petition campaign for the legalization proposal to be brought to the legislature. 

If the proposal were to be enacted, Ohioans ages 21 and older could legally buy and possess as many as 2.5 ounces of pot. The activists must obtain 132,887 signatures from Ohio voters spanning a minimum of 44 counties in order for the proposal to be considered by lawmakers. Then, lawmakers have a maximum of four months to act on the bill.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol suffered a setback earlier this month when LaRose’s office said that only 119,825 of the more than 200,000 signatures were valid—well under the threshold.

Now, with almost 30,000 additional signatures submitted, the coalition will hope that the legalization measure will finally make it to the state house in Columbus.

According to the Dispatch, if legislators “don’t pass the bill or pass an amended version” within the four-month time frame, “supporters can collect another 132,887 valid signatures to put the measure on the November ballot.”

In addition to permitting eligible adults to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis, the new proposal would also allow for up to “15 grams of concentrates,” along with “up to six plants individually and no more than 12 in a household with multiple adults,” according to the Dispatch.

The newspaper reported that, under the proposal, cannabis products “would be taxed at 10 percent, with revenue going toward administrative costs, addiction treatment programs, municipalities with dispensaries, and a social equity and jobs program.”

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol launched its campaign in earnest in July.

“We are proposing to regulate marijuana for adult use, just like we do for alcohol. Our proposal fixes a broken system while ensuring local control, keeping marijuana out of the hands of children, and benefiting everyone,” coalition Spokesman Tom Haren said in a press release at the time of the campaign launch.

“Ohioans want this,” he added. “They see marijuana legalization as inevitable. They want our leaders to seize the opportunity and take control of our future. Marijuana legalization is an issue whose time has come in Ohio. Nineteen states have gone before Ohio and we crafted legislation based on the best practices learned by those that went before us.”

But in the announcement, Haren noted that lawmakers did not have to wait for the petitions to be verified, saying the group is “ready to work with the General Assembly on meaningful reform right now, and it’s our sincere hope that we’ll collaborate on a sensible solution.”

While recreational cannabis isn’t yet legal in the Buckeye State, Ohio has had a medical cannabis program since 2016. Last month, state lawmakers passed a bill that would amount to some of the biggest changes to the program since it launched. 

Most notably, the bill would permit licensed physicians to “recommend marijuana for treatment for any condition if the physician, in the physician’s sole discretion and medical opinion, finds either of the following”: “that the patient’s symptoms may reasonably be expected to be relieved from medical marijuana” and “that the patient may otherwise reasonably be expected to benefit from medical marijuana.”

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More than 200,000 signatures later, a proposal to legalize cannabis in Ohio is heading back to the legislature.

Activists in Ohio submitted their petitions totaling 206,943 signatures this week to the secretary of state for verification for a proposal that would legalize possession and purchases of cannabis for adults.

Once the verification is done, “lawmakers will have four months to act on the legislation,” the Columbus Dispatch reported, and if they fail to pass the bill or an amended version, “supporters can collect another 132,887 valid signatures to put the measure on the ballot for the next general election.”

The Dispatch reported that the proposal “would allow Ohioans age 21 and older to buy and possess 2.5 ounces of cannabis and 15 grams of concentrates,” and that they “could also grow up to six plants individually and no more than 12 in a household with multiple adults.”

Cannabis products “would be taxed 10 percent, with revenue going toward administrative costs, addiction treatment programs, municipalities with dispensaries and a social equity and jobs program,” according to the newspaper.

The group behind the legalization effort is the “Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.”

“Marijuana legalization is an issue whose time has come in Ohio. According to recent polling, Ohioans are not only in favor of legalizing marijuana for regulated adult-use, they view it as inevitable,” the coalition says on its website. “We hope that Ohio’s leaders seize this opportunity to take control of our future. Support for a regulatory and taxation system is critical in order to set Ohio up for success should we see changes at the federal level.”

The group says its campaign is “an effort to encourage Ohio legislators to regulate marijuana for adult-use, just like we do for alcohol,” and to advance a proposal that would fix “a broken system while ensuring local control, keeping marijuana out of the hands of children, and benefiting everyone.”

Ohio Plans for Legalization

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol first drafted the proposed bill in the summer, and began gathering signatures shortly thereafter. 

The Dispatch reported that this campaign is different from the one waged in 2015, “when voters rejected a constitutional amendment pushed by ResponsibleOhio that would have paved the way for adult marijuana use.”

Additionally, the latest legalization proposal would grandfather the state’s medical cannabis businesses into the newly created recreational market, according to the Columbus Dispatch. 

Ohio’s medical cannabis program may already be on the cusp of a significant overhaul. The state Senate last week passed a bill that would result in the first changes to the program since it began five years ago. 

Most notably, the legislation would permit physicians in the state to “recommend marijuana for treatment for any condition if the physician, in the physician’s sole discretion and medical opinion, finds either of the following”: that the patient’s symptoms may reasonably be expected to be relieved from medical marijuana” and “that the patient may otherwise reasonably be expected to benefit from medical marijuana.”

The bill, which is currently under consideration by the state House of Representatives, would also add arthritis, migraines, autism spectrum disorder, spasticity or chronic muscle spasms, hospice care or terminal illness and opioid use disorder to the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis treatment.

Currently, cannabis treatment may be recommended for the following qualifying conditions: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Alzheimer’s disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Cancer; Chronic traumatic encephalopathy; Crohn’s disease; Epilepsy or another seizure disorder; Fibromyalgia; Glaucoma; Hepatitis C; Inflammatory bowel disease; Multiple sclerosis; Pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable; Parkinson’s disease; Positive status for HIV; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Sickle cell anemia; Spinal cord disease or injury; Tourette’s syndrome; Traumatic brain injury, and Ulcerative colitis.

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